1 Caracalla was never a reasonable emperor. As a matter of fact, he was probably one of the most notorious rulers in Roman history, right in the same league as Nero.2 Born on April 4, 188 A.D., in the modern-day city of Lyon, Caracalla was the eldest son of a Roman general named Septimius Severus. When he was about eight years old, his father -- then an emperor already -- changed his name from Lucius Septimius Bassianus to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. (Marcus Aurelius was actually the name of the Roman emperor right before the reign of Septimius Severus. Hailed as the last of the "Five Good Emperors," he ruled the Roman Empire from 161 A.D. to 180 A.D.)3 But, as it turned out, neither name was how people referred to him. They saw that he liked to wear a particular type of Gallic cloak (a "caracalla"), so they felt it fitting to nickname him accordingly.